Memories at Sea

I sat there staring at the vastness of the sea that lay before me. The sea in all it beauty and mightiness and vastness, twining with the sky above, separated by just one fine line in the distant horizon, dotted with sailboats, yachts and what-nots, bobbing up and down as seagulls flew above trying to perch themselves on its deck.

There was something soothing in those rhythmic rise and fall, ups and downs, which were at times unsettling, but always calming. I wondered if the sea would ever calm when it’s constantly caught in the game of tug-of-war between the pulls of the earth, the moon and the sun. Somehow this beautiful and vast and unsettled sea in its way was a reflection of the mind thats constantly unsettled.

The beautiful sea breeze that blew on our face and messed our hair, filled the sails of our beautiful little yacht, powering us onward and forward, leaving us mesmerised as to how quick we were moving onward, leaving land behind, as the Taj and the Gateway of India, in all their regal splendour, became just distant specs in a distant shore, as the wind propelled us onwards.

And then there was the sun that was slowly clocking out for the day, but not before it painted it’s canvas in various breathtaking hues, the golden, hour, the perfect light to click pics, which we took full advantage of, but not before spending moments marvelling at the vast painting before us, that was being painted before our eyes, a truly breathtaking sight, a memory that will remain forever and eternity, outliving even our mortal souls.

I sat there listening to Sagar as he explained the various points at sea, educating us about his passion and love for sailing and his many fascinating and captivating anecdotes about his time at sea, as he guided our little yacht onward, with the help of the crew and of course Yaanez.

As much I was fascinated listening to Sagar and the conversation of my fellow landlubbers, the painting in front of me kept drawing me to it, a constant ever changing canvas.

The sun by now had gone beyond the horizon, off to bring light somewhere beyond that horizon. And now that the sun was gone, the moon was no where to be seen, the stars came out to play, to shine and twinkle in the night sky, to their heart’s delight, like beautiful diamonds on a velvet cushion of inky blue, un obstructed, not outshined, by the light of the moon. A beautiful site, with the only competition coming from the twinkling lights of oil rigs, exploration vessels, ships, and other yacht on one side, and the lights of the distant shore.

We sailed deep into the ocean, aided by the wind that filled our sails and moved us forward and onwards, ridding the waves, bobbing up and down, an exhilarating feeling, and at time a bit scary too, if you have done it before, like riding a roller coaster. We sailed past the final point indicating the Mumbai harbour.

And then it was time to make the journey back, back to the shore that we had left behind a few hours ago. So Sagar and the crew shifted the direction of the sails and guided the yacht, directing it to shore.

While we sat there, some talking, some quiet, but all taking in every moment of the wonderful excursion, this wonderful experience. 

And somewhere Stand by Me began to play. Ok Yaanez played it on her Spotify, and we all joined in, singing as B. B. King, singing for the joy in our heart, singing because we were happy and our spirit soaring, more appropriately l, sailing.A moment that will etched forever in our memory.

We slowly made our way back to shore, making it pass lighthouses that were unmanned and not operational, and other landmarks and boats, slowly as we were against the mighty breeze.

Finally we came to the little boat that would take us back to shore. We one by one made got into the boot, not before thanking the wonderful crew, and our gratitude to Sagar and Yaanez for this wonderful experience, and giving us wonderful memories at sea. 

Sailing was ever on my list, on my list of things I wanted to do before I go to the great beyond, it was something I never I knew I needed to experience. But now that I had , now that I did, I was going to savour the memories, relive every moment of this beautiful memories at sea.